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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Everything is Negotiable + Past Spring Posts

Steve and I each had a small experience this weekend that reminded us that "{almost} everything is negotiable”.

1. Steve went to Target to purchase two books for himself. They were pricier in store than he remembered seeing them online. He took the books to customer service with target.com pulled up on his phone, and they gave him the online price right away. A two minute trip to customer service saved us $40 (this will come in handy as you read my experience below)!

2. I went shopping at the West Bottoms with my sister on Saturday. This is vintage/antique shopping that happens in KC one weekend a month. I met her there on her way into town so we had two cars. This is an old, industrial part of town with lots of buildings, small parking spaces, and crammed with cars and people and food trucks. My sister found a spot in a small parking area and I parked just across the street near several other cars. It is really not clear where it is and is not okay to park, since it is chaos down there and people just park wherever they can find a spot.

Forward three hours, and my car was missing. I spoke with someone working down there and she gave me the number for the towing company. I spoke with the owner on the phone who told me where to go to retrieve my car, and pay $205! $150 for towing, $30 storage fee (charged as soon as it hits the lot), and a $25 administration fee. Luckily my sister had her car to drive me to the administrative office. I asked if there was anything that could be done about the extra fees (storage and admin). The guy told me he could do nothing, that the owner was the only one that had that authority. I immediately called the owner back before paying. I think he was a bit sympathetic (and he knew I was upset)! He gave me his email address and told me to write a letter to him in writing and he would see what he could do.

The next day, I sent him a letter asking to be reimbursed the “extra fees” (they only “stored” my car for 30 minutes, and the “administrative” paperwork took all of 5 minutes). Less than 15 minutes after sending that email, the owner replied that he would be reimbursing me the $55 I requested. While I still had to pay $150, I felt a little better about being proactive and seeing what could be done about the total cost.

Just ask, the worst they can say is no!

With spring on the horizon, and so many new readers in the last few months, I thought I would post some links to past spring projects in case you are feeling crafty!

Hi! I'm Andrea and I'm obsessed with all things home! After college, I got married, we made six moves to different states, bought four homes, and had two kids along the way. This is a space where I share my love of all things home; with a side of family, travel, and DIY. Oh, I'm also a crazy plant lady! Living the good life in suburban Kansas City. ❤︎